New York City Dumps Old Subway Cars Into The Atlantic Ocean… And We’re Glad They’re Doing It

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has been dumping railcars into the ocean for more than a decade now. From 2000-2010, nearly 2500 subway cars have been shipped out and dumped into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

They call this project the “American Reclamation.”

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

It takes the MTA about one month to prepare the cars.

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

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They remove the window seats, the motors, the wheels as well as the cooling and heating systems.

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

Once emptied, the cars are then shipped to the coasts of Delaware, Georgia, Long Island, Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina.

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

They’re then dumped into the waters.

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

Once the railcars are released, it takes just about a minute for the water to swallow them completely.

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

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Photo: Stephen Mallon

After a few months… the result?

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LittleThings

These subway cars make perfect coral reef bases for sea life. Amazing, isn’t it!

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LittleThings

“The fish seem to be happy!” said photographer Stephen Mallon. “They start moving in after a couple of months, and by five years there are complete colonies living there.”